Matt Patricia learned one thing from Bill Belichick: How to talk up an opponent.
Patricia, the Lions head coach and former Belichick assistant, is preparing to play the Bears and their struggling quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky, on Sunday. And Patricia wouldn’t bite when asked about Trubisky’s struggles, instead gushing about what a fine quarterback he is.
“This guy, he’s a good player,” Patricia said, via the Detroit Free Press. “He’s athletic, he’s strong, he can get out of trouble, he can extend plays, he can scramble, he can run, he can throw. He’s got deep balls, he’s got great skill guys, so that’s the major issue that we have to deal with. He’s a great player, and we got to start there.”
Patricia has only coached against Trubisky once, and in that game Trubisky had perhaps the best performance of his career, completing 23 of 30 passes for 355 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions, and also running for a touchdown. Maybe Patricia doesn’t realize that Trubisky hasn’t played like that very often.